Ouch just received my first council tax bill!! Are they having a laugh??

I share a flat w a student (so he doesnt pay) and i just got a bill for 6 months!? its about 700 quid! if my flatmate doesnt pay does it mean i have topay the whole damn thing?????

its a shared contract!

Legally a student cannot be held liable for Council Tax with a non-student therefore only the non-student's name should be on the Council Tax .

Providing you've got your 25% discount through the other occ being a student then the bill is correct and you'll need to make arrangements to pay.

You may be able to make a personnal arrangement with the student where he pays you soomnething towards it but at the end of the day you will be held solely responsible for any debt that occurs.

is his name on the contract. if so he needs to fill in a claim form as he is not liable to pay council tax.. if it is only your name you are laible for the lot. get in touch with the phone number at the top of the bill to clarify.

They Must be....Full time students dont have to pay council tax and mine is only 拢160 per month (4 bed house). You should qualify for single person occupancy... thats 25% off the bill...unless you too are a student...then YAHOO!!!

its a joke eh, i live on my own so i get a diddy diddy discount n they sent me a form to fill out to confirm i live on my own and funnily enuff, i emailed them b4 asking them to send me a self addressed stamped envelope and told em that i pay out enuff money without me wasting more money on a stamp wen they dont even pay postage! i'm no way stingy but they can get notted, they rob us blind dunt they hun! ugh

It is based on the value of the place. If you want to pay less then move to a scummy area where houses and flats are dirt cheap...

Have you applied for 25% discount? That really does seem high. Mine is 拢85 a month for 10 months with two incomes. You need to visit the civic centre

I am in the process of buying my first home and this is something extra i will have to find money for. Its a lot of money to fork out to have your bins collected every two weeks

If it's only you two, then he will get a student disregard (provided he meets the criteria) and you have to pay the remaining balance. You aren't liable to pay the whole Council Tax on the property, only your share.

Make sure you've had the relevant reduction. If you aren't working, apply for Council Tax Benefit or even if you're on a low income you may get something.

Good luck.

Yes, they are having a laugh - all the way to the bank!

You should query the bill. As a platonic flat share I think you should only be liable for half the amount. If the Council dig their heels in and try to get the full amount out of you, go to your local Citizen's Advice Bureau. They can help you for free and advise you how to proceed. If the law isn't clear enough to get your way, go and see your MP at one of his/her surgeries (they'll have a website with the venues and dates). If they're no help, tell the local newspaper.

Just make yourself more and more of a nuisance until you get your way. They call it "rising action" in the movies (like Bart Simpson arguing with Lisa about which way the water swirls down the toilet and ending up with an international political and ecological crisis in Australia, escaping Vietnam-style)

Indeed they are having a laugh...they need something to get them through their working week!
:)

It's a disgrace and something else that really annoys me , if you stay in an affluent band you will pay the same as the multi- millionaires down the road. While i'm having this rant i am absolutely sick of the governments of this country picking on the working class.
I come from Scotland and while i did not vote for the SNP , they plan to abolish council tax and instead you will pay a little more income tax. How simple is that ?
It means the more you earn the more you will pay. This system should be brought in all over Britain. Working class people like myself would surely welcome a system like this.

Oh you are so mean.

They have to pay for the traffic calming, anti speeding signs, no parking signs, slow signs, with some thing. What you expect good service and something useful for the money you pay them ? You must be having a laugh !.

Unfortunately it would be down to you if your flatmate has their council taxed waived.

However, if you live on your own in a house, you get a single persons discount which is 25% off. You may be able to get this as the only bill payer, but not 100% sure, you`ll have to check with the council.

You can pay off your bill in monthly instalments, and this is the way most people do it, as it makes it a bit more manageable.

I do agree though its excessive! Council tax goes up each year, and yet the level of service we get goes down (for example bin collections going from weekly to fortnightly).

Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do about it, you have to grit your teeth and bear it. Its the only bill thats a criminal offence not to pay, and if you fall behind the council are quick to call in the debt collectors and the next thing will be bailiffs coming round!

Ring the council asap and see if you can get a monthly payment plan set up, which will be 拢116 a month. It can be quite a shock when you first receive it as its the one of the largest, if not the largest bill.